


Peonies and Peace

by Indigo2831



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 118 firefam, 9-1-1 3x07, Athena Begins Tag, Buck and Athena, Episode Tag, Evan Buckley's Heart of Gold, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 20:56:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21326557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indigo2831/pseuds/Indigo2831
Summary: Short tag to “Athena Begins.”  After learning about Emmett, Buck visits Athena.  It goes better than expected.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 163





	Peonies and Peace

**Author's Note:**

> "Athena Begins" was fantastic, but that ending was heartbreaking. I wanted Athena on the mend with a healthy helping of Buckaroo. Please let me know what you think.

Buck could always gauge Athena’s well-being by Bobby’s mood. It wasn’t as if they had become one of those odd and creepy couples that thought that they were one spirit after they were married. But Bobby had developed an entirely new series of facial expressions after he began dating Athena that was connected to her emotional disposition. 

So he knew something was terribly wrong days before he’d heard about Athena’s fiance. Maddie wasn’t one to break a confidence, but she was also terrible at keeping secrets from him. 

Grief wasn’t anything anyone could fix. But Athena was a fierce woman, one who cared for him more than most. She’d extended an invitation to her dinner table, to her children’s lives, to holidays, and that wasn’t something Buck took lightly. 

There was nothing on earth that assuaged grief, but Buck tried anyway. He donned a dress shirt, stopped at a florist’s shop, and drove over to Athena’s house. He’d planned to leave his gift at the door because he didn’t want to disturb her, but he didn’t know if it was cowardice. If he was protecting the image of the badass woman who was usually there when he fell. So he knocked on the door and waited patiently. 

The Athena who answered wasn’t one he’d ever seen: clad in sweatpants, with her hair neatly wrapped in a scarf, and eyes covered in Bobby’s Raybands. He smiled nonetheless from the behind the wild and budding shrubbery that had seemed elegant and ethereal in the store but now felt too unwieldy and ridiculous. A shapely eyebrow lifted at the sight of Buck on her doorstep. The last time he stood in that spot it was to announce that he was suing her husband. “Hi…Athena. I just…wanted to. I didn’t want to bother you, but I heard about…” 

Athena sighed. “Get in here, Buck.” 

“I’m not bothering you, right?" 

"If I didn’t want to be bothered, I wouldn’t have answered the door,” Athena replied. 

“Um, I got you this. Flowers di-wilt…so I figured Harry could plant it in the backyard. Or I could do it. I don’t mind,” Buck stammered. “It’s a peony. The flowers are a dark pink.” 

She gently touched a leaf. “It’s beautiful. Thank you." 

Buck sat the plant down near the patio door and cracked his knuckles, shifting nervously. He hadn’t thought what to say beyond offering condolences. "Do you have any shovels?" He asked. 

"You don’t have to plant it, Buck. I’ll do it later. I wasn’t officially suspended but my Lieutenant ‘strongly suggested’ I take time off. So time is all I got. I need to fill it with something, right?" 

Buck nodded. "Right. I can give you some pointers if you want." 

Athena walked to the fridge, her slippers scraping against the linoleum. "I haven’t gotten beyond day-drinking. You want a beer?" She opened one and handed it to him without awaiting his answer. 

They leaned against the counter and drank in the hops and the quiet. 

After a few moments, Athena asked, "Why aren’t you talking? Everyone who visits wants to chatter and gossip, distract me." 

Buck took a thoughtful sip of his beer. "After the tsunami, people did the same thing. And I appreciated it, but it also turned into me making this enormous effort to appear to be okay for them when I wasn’t. I barely had the energy for myself. As much as I hate it, there’s nothing I can say to make you feel better. And I don’t want you to feel like you have to pretend. We don’t need to talk if you don’t want to." 

Athena nudged him with a cotton-clad shoulder. “You’re smarter than you look." 

Buck laughed and extended his beer to clink it with hers. If she was making fun of him, there was hope. "Can I say one thing though?" 

"Shoot." 

Buck hadn’t expected to lay himself bare, but he also hadn’t expected to spend $83 on an insanely big bush either. "I didn’t have the best childhood. I mean, I had two parents and a house and Maddie, which is way more than most people have, but it could have been better. I left as soon as I could and spent my life looking for a family, my_ real _family. And once I found the 118…and you…I realized I stopped looking. You’re important to me, and you’re one of the coolest, most caring people I’ve ever met, even when I don’t deserve it. You’re sad and I totally understand it. Just don’t grieve forever, okay?" 

Athena sat her beer down on the counter, placed her hands on her hips and looked down as if praying. She sniffled and pressed her sunglasses firmly against her eyes. "Boy, get out of my house,” she pointed towards the door, voice breaking. 

Buck’s heart dropped. He had somehow many things worse, and now Athena Grant, a superhero by day _and_ night was crying in her own kitchen. If Bobby didn’t kill him, he was sure a force of nature probably would. “I’m sorry. I’ll go." 

He abandoned his beer and retreated for the door. Athena halted his retreat by grabbing his hand and holding it tightly. "I love you, too, Buck,” she whispered. Buck smiled, tears immediately flooding his eyes. "I just can’t cry anymore,” she said, “so you gotta go." 

“Yep,” Buck echoed, wiping his eyes.

Buck bit his lip to keep his chin from trembling. He popped a kiss on her cheek and headed for the door. 

"I’ll see you at dinner next week!” She called as he passed through the threshold of the house. 

"Yes, ma'am!" 

Buck jogged to his car, beaming. As he drove away, he saw Athena step onto the porch, and into the sun.

_Fin_


End file.
